2022 Specialty Judge Summary: Mr. Rick Gschwender

Updated: 3/23/2023

Specialty Judge

Mr. Rick Gschwender

I would like to thank the American Bouvier Des Flandres Club membership for selecting me to judge the American Bouvier Des Flandres National. It is a honor that I will never forget. I would like to thank  the Show Committee of Susan Upcraft, Bronwyn Bauer and all the members for all their hard work putting on this show. Big thanks to Myra Roth and Kathy Lake-Mason for their stewarding expertise and for keeping the ring organized and flowing.

Dog Class

My day began with the 6 to 9 month puppy dog class. Although several of the classes were small, I did have many beautiful dogs. In selecting my winners, I looked for short-coupled dogs with an impressive head, harsh double coat and balanced movement.

For Winners Dog, I narrowed it down to three dogs. My winners dog from the bred-by-class, Boyero Where No Man Has  Gone Before. He was compact with strong bone, impressive head, short backed, with a harsh double coat, balanced movement and alert expression. My Reserve Winners dog came from the 6 to 9 month puppy dog class. Rocheca Logan The Great Galheiths. This young dog has strong bone, impressive head and good coat for his age. He was balanced moving with good reach and drive along with a level top line while standing and moving. My other consideration was Bon Idee’s Tranquility for the Afterglow. He had strong bone, good substance, with balanced movement and short back.

Bitch Class

I was pleased to see so many beautiful bitches entered. The puppy, bred-by-exhibitor and open classes were deep in quality and I really had to work my way through the entries. The winners bitch lineup was both beautiful and consistent. My Winners Bitch was G & W Always Matariki De Mira Sol. She had excellent coat, short back, level top line, good return of upper arm and a nice balanced gait. Reserve winners bitch was Calm To The Silver Moon And Back. She had good coat, short back, nice neck into shoulder and balanced movement. I would have liked to see her with less coat on body.

Veteran and Working Classes

Veteran Dog CH Ace’s Best Boy Captain Kirk and Veteran Bitch GCH Delux Iron Image’s Pepper Potts at Runamok moved around the ring with ease. They were balanced with good reach and drive, had good bone and substance and correct proportions. Only one working bitch CH Skyhi’s Quietly Making Noise had strong bone, good coat, nice moving and impressive head.

Best of Breed

Upon checking everyone into the ring I move the bitches around one and a half times so I could see them move. I then move the dogs around one and a half times and started my examination of the males followed by bitches. When judging any dog, my focus is to award the dogs that best represent the standard. My breed winner was CH Boyero Triple Twist Salto. He is a beautiful square dog with an impressive head, excellent coat, good bone and substance with nice balanced movement and level top line. Best of Winners was G & W Always Matariki De Mira Sol. Best of Opposite was Bon Idee’s Through The Looking Glass. She had a beautiful harsh double coat, fluid movement with reach and drive and a level top line. As with my picks my Selects had good proportions, good bone and substance and balanced movement.

2022 Best in Specialty Show - "Salto"
Am CH Can GCHEx Boyero Triple Twist Salto
Breeder: Serge Bilodeau
Owners: Mona-Lisa Dulac, Francois Imbeau-Dulac & Serge Bilodeau
Owner-Handler: Serge Bilodeau

Stud Dog, Brood Bitch, Maturity, Brace, Altered and Junior Classes

I thoroughly enjoyed these classes. It give the breeders a chance to show what their dogs and bitches are producing and for other breeders who may be looking  for a stud dog. My Stud Dog winner was GCH Terra’s Harry Victor. My Brood Bitch winner was Boyero Once Upon A Time. My Maturity winner was Boyero Once Upon A Time. My Brace winner was Joy-A-Len’s Next Great Adventure. My Altered winner was Boyero Ready Set Go. My Best Junior was J200. No name was listed.

Final Comments

I was thrilled to notice that the bites on our breed are looking good. I have several dogs with head proportions that were more 5 to 4  instead of 3 to 2. Some light eyes, some short rib cages  and longer loins, soft coats and longer bodies. I also saw many Bouviers with strong bone, impressive heads, harsh coats good top lines and tail sets and balanced movement.

With Heartfelt Thanks and Gratitude,
Rick Gschwender